'Pakistan should expeditiously fulfil Kartarpur promises'

AMRITSAR

: India said Thursday it expects Pakistan to implement its announcements relating to the Kartarpur

corridor project

"expeditiously".


"Pakistan has to come true to the announcements they made.... It is important that they implement the announcements expeditiously," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters while replying to questions on the issue.

He said it was unfortunate that Pakistan has attempted to politicize an issue related to the sentiments of the Sikh community. "I would just like to add that we see the opening of Kartarpur corridor as a fulfilment of long pending demand of the Sikh community. It was unfortunate that Pakistan has attempted to politicize a religious issue related to the sentiments of the Sikh community.

Resume Kartarpur rail link, demand Sikhs in PakistanNow that the Kartarpur corridor project is on a roll,Sikhs living in Pakistan have demanded that rail services from Darbar Sahib Kartarpur railway station, which has been lying abandoned since 2005, be resumed at the earliest.


Speaking to TOI over phone from Lahore on Friday, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) ex-president Bishan Singh said, “Since the corridor dream is going to materialize soon, we want the suspended rail services to be resumed from Darbar Sahib Kartarpur railway station.”

At present, devotees coming to Kartarpur Sahib have to travel by road, using either local bus service or hiring taxis. Another Pakistan-based Sikh Gobind Singh said before 2005, five to seven trains used to ply on Lahore-Narowal-Chak Amru section. But then the government decided to restrict the rail service from Lahore to Narowal, a distance of about 80 kilometres, and suspended service from Narowal to Kartarpur Sahib and Chak Amru, which were at a distance of 16km and 52km from Narowal respectively.

After the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, federal minister for railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had announced to provide land for a railway station in Kartarpur Sahib.

Sources said the colonial era building of Darbar Sahib Kartarpur railway station is a shambles.